Lesson Plan for Teaching the Impersonal in Spanish

The following article describes a lesson plan including a practice exercise for teaching the construction of the impersonal in Spanish to first year Spanish language students. Also included are examples to illustrate the Spanish impersonal.

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The Impersonal in English

Begin by discussing the impersonal in English. Explain that the impersonal in English is used to make general statements without a specified agent. An agent, in the case of the impersonal, is defined as the person or people who perform the action of the verb. For example, the following sentences are examples of the impersonal in English:

One can never have enough socks.

They say that you should never discuss religion or politics.

You should be kind to children and animals.

People need to eat more fruits and vegetables.

Anyone can play guitar.

Someone should write an intriguing book about grammar.

No one should ever kick puppies.

As illustrated by the previous examples, the impersonal in English is formed by using an impersonal pronoun or noun. The impersonal pronouns in English include the one pronouns (one, anyone, someone, no one) as well as the personal pronouns you and they when used impersonally. The noun people can also be used to form the impersonal in English when referring to people in general.

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The Impersonal in Spanish

Introduce the impersonal (el se impersonal) in Spanish. Explain that the impersonal is used similarly in Spanish to make general statements with unspecified grammatical subjects. For example, the following sentences are examples of the impersonal in Spanish:

For example, the following chart identifies the infinitive, third person singular indicative, singular impersonal of some common Spanish verbs:

Infinitive – Third Person Indicative – Impersonal

beber – bebe – se bebe

comer – come – se come

dar – da – se da

hablar – habla – se habla

hacer – hace – se hace

ir – va – se va

vener – viene – se viene

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¿Qué se hace? Practice Exercise

Use the following exercise to practice forming the impersonal in Spanish. Construct impersonal sentences in Spanish by describing what one does in each place.

Los Lugares

la biblioteca

el café

la discoteca

la escuela

la piscina

la playa

el restaurante

la tienda

Los Verbos

aprender

bailar

beber

comprar

comer

jugar

leer

nadar

Las Respuestas

Se lee en la biblioteca.

Se bebe en el café.

Se baila en la discoteca.

Se aprende en la escuela.

Se nada en la piscina.

Se juega por la playa.

Se come en la restuarante.

Se compra en la tienda.

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Learning to form the impersonal se in Spanish is necessary for Spanish language learners to make general statements with unspecified grammatical subjects. This Spanish lesson plan outlines a lesson for teaching the impersonal to first-year Spanish students and includes an exercise for practicing the new verb form.